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Alex Elias  USGA In a full-circle moment, Brandon Wu had the honor of hitting the first tee shot at the 2020 U.S. Open at Winged Foot Golf Club—just five minutes from where he grew up. Reflecting on his upbringing, the New York native said, "I actually thought it was advantageous to have the different seasons because then you could play other sports. At Deerfield [Academy], I swam and played football for a couple of years." "It certainly keeps your golf game fresh. At times, I definitely felt kind of rusty because I wasn’t playing year round, but also when I got to Stanford and we were playing year round, I thought it was perfect," said Wu. Balancing academics and multiple sports at Deerfield, Wu carried that same philosophy with him to Stanford. "This might be a different take than some, but I just think that golf isn't the most important thing in the world, especially going to a place like Stanford. I was fortunate enough that golf brought me to Stanford, but it allowed me to experience all the other great things like getting to meet cool professors, making friends with people who started their own company and honestly, that helped with the golf," said Wu. "One thing we would always talk about is you play golf, you're not a golfer. I felt like my first few years at Stanford, if I wasn't playing well, then that consumed me. My mood was so dependent on whether I was playing well that day or not," said Wu. "After I made that shift to you play golf, that's not who you are, that's just something you do, I felt that distinction made me more relaxed and allowed me to play better."  Stanford Men's Golf Team As Wu is currently on the Korn Ferry Tour, Wu led Stanford to a National Championship his Senior year (2019). Heading into the the National Championship, Stanford had become somewhat of an underdog, as Texas had knocked off Oklahoma State University, a team led by Viktor Hovland and Matthew Wolff. Now on the Korn Ferry Tour, Wu helped lead Stanford to a National Championship during his senior year in 2019. Heading into the National Championship, Stanford was considered an underdog after University of Texas upset Oklahoma State University, a team led by Viktor Hovland and Matthew Wolff. "I definitely felt like the perception was that we were underdogs. I think we both embraced that role and were confident in ourselves. We were kind of just focused on our own team. Honestly, it was almost good to not be the favorite because I feel like all Oklahoma State was thinking about was winning the final. But for us, we just had to beat this team in front of us and focus on the task at hand," said Wu. "We played Wake Forest, then we played Vandy. We won close matches, but then we were in the finals and at that point, you might as well win it."  Korn Ferry Tour Since arriving on the Korn Ferry Tour, Wu has continued his strong play, highlighted by his win at the Korn Ferry Tour Championship last August. Despite his early success, Wu acknowledged the challenges of turning professional, saying, "The transition is definitely tough. It's just you. You know you have to go out and perform. 100% of the responsibility is on you."
Approaching each week as a chance to grow, Wu reflected, "I think sometimes the margins are quite thin. Some things are different — like, I'm never going to hit it as far as DJ — but you can make up for it by putting better or hitting your irons a little closer. It's important to realize that everyone has their own way of going about it."
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